Dual boot - Server 2008

Discussion in 'Software' started by Sparky, Sep 2, 2008.

  1. Sparky
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    Sparky Zettabyte Poster Moderator

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    Just wondering if anyone has done this.

    I want to have Server 2008 running on my PC but also have XP or Vista as a boot option as well. I don’t think the wife would like to use Server 2008 to browse the web!

    Anyways I take it I need to install XP first, and create enough partitions (e.g one for Vista, one for Server 2008 and perhaps another one for ‘data’) as there is only one physical drive in the PC. It was easy to have XP and Vista running side by side but I’m not sure if a Server OS will play ball.

    Just to add some more complexity to this I am considering trying to triple boot XP, Vista and Server 2008 as there are a few games I still want to use on XP and I don’t want to lose any performance by running XP on a virtual PC. Actually I don’t even know if gaming is a serious option on a virtual PC. :blink

    I’ve googled this but cant find much on how to triple boot the PC with three Windows based OSs.

    I’ve lined this up as a ‘weekend project’ but just doing some research first, any help appreciated! :biggrin

    Edit: Server 2008 will be running hyper-v so I need it to run on a physical machine.
     
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  2. UKDarkstar
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    UKDarkstar Terabyte Poster

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    Not done it or come across anyone who has but I'd be interested to know how you get on ! :biggrin
     
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  3. Theprof

    Theprof Petabyte Poster

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    I know people who've done this with XP, Vista and Ubuntu and it worked fine. As opposed to a pure windows triple boot, I don't see any issues there. It might not be as simple as a dual boot but I am pretty sure it's doable. The best thing to do would be to try this in a VM to see if it works. But quite frankly like UKDarstar put it I would love to see how it turns out as it is pretty interesting thought.
     
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  4. zimbo
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    zimbo Petabyte Poster

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    i havent come across it nor heard of anyone doing it so im interested to hear how you get along! I dont see how its a problem if they each have either own partition and your boot loader has a line for each OS! :biggrin
     
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  5. Mr.Cheeks

    Mr.Cheeks 1st ever Gold Member! Gold Member

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    What Zimbo says;
     
  6. UKDarkstar
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    UKDarkstar Terabyte Poster

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    looks like it's all down to you then Sparky !

    We're all waiting .......

    :biggrin
     
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  7. JonGlory

    JonGlory Byte Poster

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    Maybe if you have 2 hdds, 1 with xp and vista, and 1 with 2008, install 1st as a dual boot xp/vista, then disable the drive in the bios, then install 2008 on other drive, it means you having to disable drives in the bios at boot each time you want to swap from 2008/ to vista/xp and vice versa but it is a sort of work around.
     
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  8. TimoftheC

    TimoftheC Kilobyte Poster

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    As posted above, no idea if a server OS will multi boot with other operating systems so I can't help there, only to say that I have tripled booted before with win98, XP and Ubuntu all on one hdd without any problems. Not sure if that helps but, hay ho, information is a good thing right :)

    As for gaming in virtual PC - can't be done I'm afraid as it's something that I have tried. There just isn't the support out there for joysticks or graphic/sound drivers, at least, not that I could find :( I had some old games I wanted to try through virtual PC and gave up trying to get them to run at a playable level.
     
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  9. BosonMichael
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    BosonMichael Yottabyte Poster

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    With earlier server OSes, yes, you can. I see no reason why you couldn't also do it with Server 2008, though I haven't done so myself...
     
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  10. NightWalker

    NightWalker Gigabyte Poster

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    I have had Server 2003 in a triple boot with XP and Vista before, not tried Server 2008. The usual applies when multi booting Windows, install the oldest OS first into the first partition, then the next oldest in the next partition and so on.
     
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  11. Sparky
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    Sparky Zettabyte Poster Moderator

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    Cheers guys, will let you know how I get on 8)
     
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  12. Gary B

    Gary B Nibble Poster

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    I'd got a dual boot setup with XP and Vista and had been meaning to take a look at 2008 so I've just added it with no problems at all



    tri_boot.jpg
     
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  13. Sparky
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    Sparky Zettabyte Poster Moderator

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    Dammit!!! :biggrin

    Do the system restore points still work ok in Vista and XP? Also does XP still boot?

    No such luck for me, I can’t get Windows XP to install on the new hardware, it blue screens at ‘starting Windows’. I downloaded XP with SP3 from technet and it seems to go slightly further but again blue screens.

    So it looks like it will have to be a Vista\Server 2008 dual boot then.
     
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  14. Mr.Cheeks

    Mr.Cheeks 1st ever Gold Member! Gold Member

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    Restore points should work fine kid.

    Is the SP3 intergrated with XP? as it could be one of the updates in that pack, or of course some hardware.
     
  15. nugget
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    nugget Junior toady

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    Also, if you really need sound when gaming (or working) then just remember that the hyper-v based vms do not support sound. You'll only get sound from the vm if you rdp (not from the server 2008) to it and use the settings to bring the sound to you.
     
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  16. Gary B

    Gary B Nibble Poster

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    No problems with any operating systems, restore points are still there.

    If you're getting a blue screen on install of XP that must surely be down to some faulty hardware or maybe XP using some generic driver during install for that kit - normally during install if it blue screens it stays on that screen instead of rebooting so the error should give you a good indication of the issue.

    When installing Vista on this particular PC I had loads of problems with it freezing - I just disabled most uneeded features on the MOBO including SATA and RAID as I wasn't using them to install too and all worked fine then re-enabled and installed latest drivers

    Good luck anyway
     
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  17. Sparky
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    Sparky Zettabyte Poster Moderator

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    It's a brand new PC with Vista pre-installed. Ive tried installing from an original Windows XP disk (no service packs) and also a disk with SP3 included (downloaded from technet).

    Will have another look at it but I think the hardware might not be supported under XP.
     
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  18. Gary B

    Gary B Nibble Poster

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    Give XP SP 2 a try (I used the one from technet)
     
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  19. Sparky
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    Sparky Zettabyte Poster Moderator

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    Same again mate, pci.sys BSOD error message. I tried Windows 2000 (just for fun!) and it bombed out at the same stage saying it cant access the boot device.

    Installing Vista just now instead... 8)
     
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  20. westernkings

    westernkings Gigabyte Poster

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    I have actually done this at work because I was learning about servers. I was booting between XP Pro, Vista Enterprise and Server 2003 R2, all seemed to work fine. Never had any problems, infact when there is a certain group of people I use the boot as a file server for them and use a laptop until they leave.
     
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